Page 124 of If You Stayed

Reality set in that he came back for me.

Even after how everything went down.

He hurried over, his hand rested against my cheek, and I shut my eyes. Comfort. I missed that most of all.

“Kierra…” he choked out with palpable heartache.

I opened my eyes and saw the hurt in his stare. I shook my head. “Just a few bruises, that’s all,” I half-joked.

He didn’t laugh. I didn’t blame him. Nothing was funny.

“Where’s Ava?” he asked, alert, his eyes darting around the space. “Is she…?”

“She’s okay. She’s at her grandmother’s.”

Gabriel pulled me closer to him. “I’m going to murderhim,” he growled, his nostrils flaring with a rage I’d never seen before. “I’m going to fucking murder him.”

“No. It’s fine.”

“This isn’t fucking fine,” he growled, his voice dripping with desire for vengeance.

“I know. But we have to leave before he’s—”

The front door opened again, and I tensed up. Gabriel glanced toward the doorway of the bedroom, then back to me. “Stay here,” he ordered. Not an order from control, yet one from protection. Those orders were very different. Henry controlled; Gabriel protected.

Gabriel stood and marched out of the bedroom. I covered my ears and rocked back and forth as the commotion in the other room intensified. It sounded like a war zone with things being knocked over, things being shattered. I trembled from fear, uncertain what was going on in the other room. Seconds felt like minutes, and minutes felt like hours as I waited.

When the commotion came to a halt, the silence terrified me more than the noise prior. Footsteps grew closer. My anxiety shot higher. Then he appeared.

Gabriel.

He walked over to me, with a busted lip.

I placed my hand against his face. “Are you okay?” I asked.

A tiny curve raised his lips. “Just a few bruises, that’s all.”

Gabriel.

My Gabriel.

My very best friend.

“And Henry?” I questioned, a crack in my voice.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe.”

He lifted me into his arms. I burrowed into his chest. “Keep your eyes closed until you’re in the car, okay, Kierra? Don’t look around.”

I agreed. He carried me to the vehicle and unlocked the door. As he placed me in the passenger seat, I kept my eyes shut. He hurried over to the driver’s seat and closed his door. The second he drove off, I opened my eyes and I allowed myself to breathe.

33

Kierra

I felt dirty as I sat in the police station.

They had me undress.

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